In this morning's Washington Post, Daniel Schulman, author of the excellent biography/political history Sons of Wichita: The Saga of the Koch Brothers, expounds on a subject he regularly discusses while touring for the book: the happier side of Libertarianism.
The column, entitled The Koch brothers can save the Republican Party — by making it more moderate, reminds readers that, while decrying all taxes and regulations, the Brothers Koch also embrace the absolutism of personal freedom that is part and parcel of their creed. Brother Charles has railed against corporate welfare and subsidies for business. Brother David knows pot smokers and has gay friends. Both believe in reproductive choice.
Freedom means freedom for everyone, even commie f-- junkies (well, maybe not the commie part). Responsibility means responsibility for everyone, even oil barons (though, like everyone, their tax breaks should total 100%).
Schulman argues that, if the GOP could bring itself to embrace true, total Libertarianism, could become truly Koch-y, it would better represent the hopes and dreams of Americans, and clean up at the ballot box in the bargain. Win-win.
For a few. The problem with the argument is that the core of Libertarianism rejects the very idea of government, save as Brother Charles' "night watchman" who protects the businessman's factory. As a parlor game or thought experiment (the origins of Libertarianism), this is fine, but when applied as a guiding principle to a major party competing for control of actual, real-world, government, it becomes a solipsistic nightmare which benefits only those who need it least.
The United States was founded on the ideals of maximizing personal and state autonomy within the structure of a federal government, an arrangement which could
form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity
This, whatever the Gadsden flag-wavers may shout, is
not the same vision inhering in the Mises/Rand/LeFevre nihilism which is contemporary Libertarianism. Had the Founders wished a Libertarian America, they could have stuck with the Articles of Confederation, perhaps even abolished the state governments as well.
Or gone with an even earlier model, as Libertarianism, in full vision, resembles nothing more than a headless feudalism, without even the entertainment value of a monarch.